(Port Sudan) The war in Sudan has caused “one of the worst humanitarian crises” in the world in decades, said Thursday the international president of the NGO Doctors Without Borders, Christos Christou.
War broke out in April 2023 between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) of his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.
The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than nine million people, according to the UN.
“Sudan is marked by one of the worst crises the world has seen in decades […] and the humanitarian response is deeply inadequate,” Christou said on X.
“There are extreme levels of suffering across the country and the needs are growing by the day,” he added.
The two belligerents have been accused of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians, bombing populated areas and blocking humanitarian aid, despite the threat of famine hanging over millions of Sudanese.
Human rights groups and the United States have also accused the paramilitaries of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The United States last week announced $315 million in emergency aid for Sudan and called on both sides to allow access to humanitarian aid, warning that the country was at risk of famine. historic scale.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said hunger in Sudan could reach levels not seen since the Ethiopian famine in the early 1980s, which left 1.2 million dead.
“We have seen mortality projections that more than 2.5 million people –– about 15% of the population – in Darfur and Kordofan, the hardest hit areas, could die by the end of this month. September,” she warned.
“This is the largest humanitarian crisis on the planet, and it threatens to get worse as the rainy season approaches,” added the diplomat.
The UN estimates that five million people in Sudan are suffering from extreme hunger, while food is also lacking in neighboring countries where two million Sudanese have taken refuge.
Repeated U.S. efforts to end the conflict have failed.
Several foreign countries provided support on both sides. Sudan has expelled UAE diplomats suspected of supporting the RSF, while Egypt, Turkey and Iran have said they support the army.
According to MSF, recent fighting in el-Facher, the last town in Darfur that escapes paramilitary control, has left more than 220 people dead.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last week demanding an end to the RSF’s “siege” of el-Facher and calling on “all member states to refrain from external interference.”
On Tuesday, Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed accused the United Arab Emirates of responsibility for the continuation of the war at a council meeting. The Emirati representative rejected the accusation.
MSF in Sudan reported on wounded. Intense bombings were carried out around the city, according to the same source.